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2025 TAA Virtual Winter Retreat

  

Visual Art Schedule
Morning Session 1
9 AM CST
Elementary/Lower Middle Visual Art Participants
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Upper Middle/Secondary Visual Art Participants
Faces and Places: Digital Approaches to Portraits and Landscapes
Instructor:
 
Don Masse
 

In this session, participants will experiment with Adobe Express and Pixlr to bring fresh digital perspectives to traditional subjects in art classes. The apps are free and user friendly for students and teachers alike.

 Instrumental
 Vocal
Elementary/Lower Middle Visual Art Participants
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Upper Middle/Secondary Visual Art Participants
Creating Cartoon Characters
Instructor:
 
Larissa Brown
 

Participants in this session will learn from Nickelodeon character designer and Disney artist Larissa Brown. She will share the process of creating cute, fun, and frightening cartoon characters that will have students drawing up a storm.

 Instrumental
 Vocal
Morning Break
10:30 AM CST
Morning Session 2
10:45 AM CST
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Elementary/Lower Middle Visual Art Participants
Upper Middle/Secondary Visual Arts Participants
Faces and Places: Digital Approaches to Portraits and Landscapes
Instructor:
 
Don Masse
Upper Middle/Secondary
 Instrumental
 Vocal

In this session, participants will experiment with Adobe Express and Pixlr to bring fresh digital perspectives to traditional subjects in art classes. The apps are free and user friendly for students and teachers alike.

************************
Elementary/Lower Middle Visual Art Participants
Upper Middle/Secondary Visual Arts Participants
Creating Cartoon Characters
Instructor:
 
Larissa Brown
Upper Middle/Secondary
 Instrumental
 Vocal

Participants in this session will learn from Nickelodeon character designer and Disney artist Larissa Brown. She will share the process of creating cute, fun, and frightening cartoon characters that will have students drawing up a storm.

Lunch Break
12:15 PM CST
Tennessee Talks
1:10 PM CST
Musing: Tennessee Talks
Kevin Thomas

Kevin Thomas, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago and raised in Montreal, is a renowned dancer, choreographer, and educator. He’s been performing internationally for a decade, beginning his professional career as a dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal and later becoming a principal dancer with Ballet San Jose and the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Thomas has performed leading roles in numerous ballets, including The Prodigal Son, Othello, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and The Nutcracker. Among other credits, he has appeared with the Royal Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and on Broadway in The Phantom of the Opera. In 2006, Thomas co-founded the Memphis-based company Collage Dance Collective with Marcellus Harper to promote diversity in classical ballet. The organization has quickly grown to boast an international touring professional company and nationally recognized conservatory, training more students of color in a classical art form than any other nonprofit in the region. Collage was recently named a Southern Cultural Treasure by South Arts and the Ford Foundation.

Join the zoom session
Break
2 PM CST
Interludes
2:15 PM CST
Pathways to Leadership and Advocacy
Instructor:
 
Arts Leadership and Administration
: Arts Integration, Creative Drama and Movement.

Many educators have been seeking ways to advocate for art education. This session will provide ideas for sharing what is happening in arts classrooms with decision makers and provide ideas for applying classroom leadership practices in new ways.

So, You Want to Start a Jazz Band?
Instructor:
 
Music
: Arts Integration, Creative Drama and Movement.

In this session, the presenter will outline how to start a school jazz band. There will also be suggestions offered on ways to grow an existing school’s jazz band program.

Empower and Amplify: Vocal Musicianship in the Music Classroom and Choral Rehearsal
Instructor:
 
Music
: Arts Integration, Creative Drama and Movement.

In this session, participants explore the principles of healthy vocal production as they are employed in rehearsals with singers of all ages and experience levels. A variety of exercises that reinforce vocal musicianship, ensemble development, and aural skills will be presented. Selecting and preparing repertoire in the general music classroom and choral rehearsal will also be explored.

Tune into Literacy
Instructor:
 
Music
: Arts Integration, Creative Drama and Movement.

Explore the vital connection between literacy and music in this interactive online session. Participants will dive into the impact of literacy on general music instruction and share practical tips, tricks, and strategies for integrating literacy in meaningful ways. The session will also feature an open conversation to exchange ideas and address challenges.

Bringing Biography to Life!
Instructor:
 
Theatre and Dance
: Arts Integration, Creative Drama and Movement.

There are living stories all around us. In this jump-in class, participants will receive prompts from photos and human interest features from newspapers. They will learn to tell those stories on the spot and have a blast doing it!

Moventures: A Moving Adventure!
Instructor:
 
Theatre and Dance
: Arts Integration, Creative Drama and Movement.

In this session, participants will experience the ways that any curriculum can move! No dance experience is needed to creatively embody concepts in science, math, or literature.

One Sheet of Paper
Instructor:
 
Visual Art
: Arts Integration, Creative Drama and Movement.

This hands-on interlude will walk participants through the steps of creating a simple zine with learners. Ideas on how these mini-booklets can grow into engaging, meaningful projects will also be provided, all without the need for devices! A zine (short for "magazine") is a mini, self-published booklet that starts with an idea and evolves into a unique medium! Zines encourage creativity, build fine motor skills, and promote exploration and sharing.

Materials needed: Participants will need a sheet of copy paper, a pencil, scissors, and a glue stick. Everything else is up to your imagination!

Exploring Self and Belonging: A Self-Portrait Journey for K-5 Students
Instructor:
 
Visual Art
: Arts Integration, Creative Drama and Movement.

This engaging and interactive workshop integrates Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) with the creation of self-portraits, inviting students in grades kindergarten through five to explore their identities, foster a sense of belonging, and express themselves through various materials and mediums. Through the use of literature, creative art supplies, and diverse approaches, students will engage in a multi-faceted journey of self-discovery and expression, all while cultivating emotional awareness, empathy, and community building.

Materials needed: Participants will need crayons, markers, colored pencils, paint and brushes, paper, fabric scraps, beads, and other mixed-media materials.

Paper Bag Sketchbooks
Instructor:
 
Visual Art
: Arts Integration, Creative Drama and Movement.

This session will present an easy and effective way for students to create a multipurpose sketchbook from paper bags or gift bags, reinforcing the teaching standards to recycle and reuse. The paper bags create pockets to store collage materials or reference images. They are also durable with almost any medium, and have a nice, toned background to enhance color and value. The presenter will share a few tutorials that can be used in the  classroom, as well as the slideshow used for the interlude.

Materials needed: Large brown paper bag or gift bag with handles (at least 8 by 10 inches or larger). These materials should be something you can get for free at most grocery stores. You can also use a re-used gift bag from a previous holiday or event. Brown lunch paper bags work well too, and you can make about 8-10 sketchbooks from one purchased package. You will also need scissors, glue, and any writing or drawing instruments you wish to use.

Break
3 PM CST
Performance
3:10 PM CST
Middle Tennessee State University Jazz Ensemble
 

About the Middle Tennessee State University Jazz Ensemble

MTSU Jazz Ensemble I is the top performing large ensemble in the jazz studies program at Middle Tennessee State University. It features the most experienced student players, and concentrates on cutting-edge literature, master works from the big band repertoire, and performance of student compositions and arrangements. Members of MTSU Jazz Ensemble I commit to the highest levels of professionalism as individual soloists, section-members, and as contributors to the group sound. This ensemble has toured extensively throughout the mid-Southeast. The ensemble’s annual headline appearance at the MTSU Illinois Jacquet Jazz Festival with an internationally acclaimed jazz artist is a highlight. Recent guests have included Dave Douglas, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Jimmy Heath, Rich Perry, and Tamir Hendelman.

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Networking & Collaboration
4:00 PM CST
The purpose of the networking and collaboration session is to provide space for Academy participants in each content area to reflect and act on learning they have received from the TAA Winter Retreat classes, from past Academy experiences, and from their own school and classroom environment. Participants will work collaboratively to share teaching strategies, strengthen professional networks, and synthesize and connect learning with existing and newly created professional goals. A TAA facilitator will guide the session.
Upper Middle/Secondary Visual Art Networking and Collaboration
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Elementary/Lower Middle Visual Art Networking and Collaboration
Join the Zoom Session
Conclusion
5:00 PM CST
Special thanks to the Marlene and Spencer Hays Foundation for their generous support of the Tennessee Arts Academy Virtual Winter Retreat and the many other TAA programs and events throughout the year.
The Tennessee Arts Academy Virtual Winter Retreat is made possible through generous grants provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Tennessee Arts Commission. Special thanks to the Tennessee Arts Academy Foundation for their generous support of the Tennessee Arts Academy Virtual Winter Retreat and their ongoing support for TAA throughout the year. Please click here to learn more about the Tennessee Arts Academy Foundation.
Return to Virtual Winter Retreat
Tennessee Arts Academy • Tennessee Arts Academy Foundation
801 2nd Avenue North  • Suite 100 • Nashville, Tennessee 37201
615-988-6250 • taa@tnartsacademy.org
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